Chapter Thirty-two: The Trial (Part 2)

  If you ignore the intimidating crown prince hat on Li Xian's head, he is just a little kid. Although his height is considered tall among ten-year-old boys, in front of the generals who can stand on their fists and run horses on their arms, Li Xian still looks insignificant, just a small bean. When he entered the account, no matter what expression the generals had on their faces, whether it was false courtesy or indifference, they didn't take Li Xian seriously in their hearts, and few looked at him straight. But now that Li Xian has made such a fuss, they are all confused, with eyes wide open like bronze bells, but they don't dare to ask questions because not only is Li Xian a crown prince who can't be offended by ordinary people, but also because the old master Su sitting in the high position hasn't interrupted Li Xian's loud laughter.

  "Huh?"

  Su Dingfang was a seasoned veteran of many battles, and he had seen all sorts of plots and schemes. It wouldn't be easy to deceive him. As soon as Li Xian smiled, Su Dingfang saw through his trick of "turning the tables". However, since Su Dingfang had already spoken up, whether it was to scold or ask questions, the initiative would inevitably fall into Li Xian's hands. Given Su Dingfang's cunning nature, he wouldn't have fallen for this trick so easily. So he let Li Xian perform as much as he wanted, until Li Xian couldn't smile anymore. Only then did Su Dingfang calmly and quietly utter a single word, his expression still indifferent as ever.

  "General Su is too polite, Little Wang was rude, haha, it's actually because I remembered Li Chunfeng and Li Taishi's parting words. Ashamed, ashamed." Li Xian's methods may not work, but the thickness of his face has been tempered through experiencing the officialdom of past dynasties. Seeing that his plan to "turn the tables" had been discovered, Li Xian didn't panic at all, haha, he smiled and casually pulled out another trick.

  "What's the meaning of this?" Su Dingfang could ignore others' words, even if it was an imperial edict. If he thought it was inappropriate, he would dare to refute it face-to-face. But when it came to Li Chunfeng, a half-immortal-like person, Su Dingfang didn't dare take his words lightly. He furrowed his brow and asked somewhat reluctantly.

  "Hey, I've finally spoken up! Haha, it's showtime! With this, Su Dingfang has finally broken his silence. Li Xian felt triumphant in his heart, but didn't dare to show it on his face. He just smiled and bowed: "Please let the old general know that Li Taishi once said to me: 'The one who will revive our great Tang Dynasty must be the Left Valiant Guard.' I didn't fully believe it at first, but now that I've seen General Su's vigor and all of your bravery, I truly believe it. Thinking about how I'll have the honor of becoming a disciple here, I'm overjoyed to the point of being flustered. Please forgive me, please forgive me."

  It is said that a thousand or ten thousand words of flattery can be tolerated, but not the praise from Li Xian. When such flattering words came out, all the generals were delighted and smiled, even though they knew that most of what Li Xian said was insincere. Who doesn't want to hear good things about themselves? Even Su, an honest man, couldn't help but feel a little pleased despite himself.

  "Your Highness is overpraising me, I'm afraid I don't deserve such words. Your Highness has a heart for martial arts, but it's not necessarily good. It's just that practicing martial arts is arduous, can you persist?" Su Dingfang's face was slightly cleared up, but he obviously didn't plan to let Li Xian off the hook easily. He smiled faintly and said with a hint of implication.

  Difficult? This phrase sounds strange, dizzy, it seems that this time we have to eat a bitter pill! Li Xian's thoughts were very quick-witted, and as soon as he heard it, he understood the implicit meaning of Old Master Su's words. In his heart, he secretly cursed his bad luck, but things had already reached this point, and retreating was obviously not possible. With no other choice, he forced a smile and replied: "General, you are right. Since I have the intention to learn from Wu, I dare not be lazy. This is one thing that I can guarantee. I hope General will take into account my sincerity and help me out. I am grateful."

  "Well, since Your Highness has already spoken, how could Su not comply? Only... " Old Master Su nodded thoughtfully, with a look of willing consent, but at the end, he added a small tail.

  "Just? You're just... Fine, you've got it. Name your price! Li Xian's forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. He knew that Old Man Su was up to no good, but he had no choice and could only respond with a show of enthusiasm: "General Su, please speak freely. Whatever is within my power, I will not dare refuse."

  "Alright, Your Highness has spoken well. In that case, please excuse my boldness." As soon as Li Xian made this statement, a hint of cunning smile flashed across Su's old eyes. He suddenly stood up and gave a thumbs-up: "We martial artists must prioritize perseverance. Those who do not suffer hardship will surely achieve nothing. Now that Your Highness has a strong desire for martial arts, you are naturally someone who can endure hardship. I won't make things difficult for you. The south training ground is not large, so why don't you go run twenty laps first? I'll have someone beat the drum to cheer you on!"

  What?! Twenty laps, I'm going to die, isn't this taking someone's life?! Unbelievable! As soon as Old Master Su said this, Li Xian's eyes widened like copper bells, and his mouth was also wide open... The south sports field is not big, but the distance of one lap is not small. Calculated in meters, it's over 600 meters. Twenty laps would be over 12,000 meters! Poor Li Xian has never been good at this kind of thing. To say nothing of his past life or future life, even when he was studying and reading books, he had never run such a long distance... When he was still in school, Li Xian was most afraid of long-distance running. Every time he ran 1500 meters, he would be so exhausted that he wouldn't recover for three to five days. Now if he has to run twenty laps, won't it take his life?!

  "Your Highness, if you have any difficulties, then forget it and go back to the mansion to rest." As soon as he saw Li Xian stunned, Old Master Su's mouth corners immediately hung a thread of playful smile, smiling and saying something that provoked Li Xian.

  Do you want me to back down? Not a chance! Li Xian may not have been sincere about learning martial arts, but he would never admit defeat in front of others. He gritted his teeth and glared at Old Man Su with a puffed out chest, saying: "Since General Su has issued the challenge, how could I, Xiao Wang, dare to refuse? However, I do have one condition - if I can complete this task, I hope General Su will grant my wish to become his apprentice and learn martial arts."

  "Very well, if Your Highness can indeed accomplish this, I will be delighted to see it happen!"

  Twenty laps is not a small number, let alone Li Xian, this young kid who has not experienced wind and rain. Even for soldiers, running down would not be an easy task. In Su Dingfang's view, Li Xian was just being stubborn, so he didn't take it to heart and readily agreed.

  He's gone, dead or alive, it's all the same! Li Xian glared at Old Man Su with a scowl, then undid his belt and took off his royal robes, leaving only a thin undergarment on. He casually tossed the royal robes to the ground and strode out of the tent with an air of grandeur. The other generals were initially stunned, standing around in confusion, but soon they began to chatter and speculate wildly, until the big tent was as chaotic as a marketplace.

  "Come, beat the drums to assist King Zhou's majesty!" Su Dingfang really didn't think that Li Xian would actually run away after saying he would, and was momentarily stunned. Looking around at the other generals in the tent, who were all arguing and shouting, he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. He slapped his thigh, let out a loud shout, and then ignored the reactions of the other generals as he strode out of the large tent. The other generals followed close behind him.

  The generals only came out of the big tent, and as soon as they saw Li Xian standing outside, he was busy warming up, rubbing his hands and feet, bowing and turning around. The crowd had never seen such a warm-up method before, and they couldn't help but start discussing it again. Although there were no obvious sarcastic remarks, the playful jokes were not few. However, Li Xian pretended to be deaf and only focused on practicing with his head down, his tender little face full of determination.

  "Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

  In a short while, Li Xian finished warming up and didn't say much. He nodded to Old Man Su and stood at the edge of the field. Immediately, the drumbeat started rumbling loudly. Li Xian's small body first paused for a moment, then ran along the edge of the field at an even pace.

  One lap, he was sweating; two laps, he was panting; three laps, his legs were numb. By the time he reached the fourth lap, Li Xian's face had turned pale, his legs were soft and his footsteps were slow and dragging. By the fifth lap, Li Xian was gasping for breath like an ox, stumbling along, on the verge of falling to the ground at any moment. Yet, despite this, Li Xian refused to give up, his face set in determination as he continued to run forward, with only one thought in his mind: Run, keep running, persevere, and persevere again!

  Eight rounds, nine rounds, ten rounds. As time passed, Li Xian's stumbling body had gone through the tenth round, and he was already tottering, causing all the generals to stare in amazement. The original chatter and laughter ceased, and the generals were all silent, but their eyes looking at Li Xian shone with admiration.

  "General, if this continues, I'm afraid something will go wrong. You see..." Just as Li Xian was exhausted, the Left Rongwei General Dugu Mou couldn't bear it anymore and leaned in close to Su Dingfang's side, whispering a sentence.

  "Hmm, not busy, let's take a look." Su Dingfang also didn't think that Li Xian, this hothouse flower, could actually run such a long distance. He felt a twinge of sympathy in his heart, but was still unwilling to let Li Xian stir up trouble in the Left Valiant Guard. After a brief moment of hesitation, he waved his hand and rejected Du Gu's proposal.

  Dugu Mou was a general, and in terms of hierarchy, he was Su Dingfang's deputy. Every time he spoke, he was rebuffed, so the other generals didn't dare to chime in again, they could only watch Li Xian, who was running desperately in the arena, with eager eyes. It's hard to say whether they hoped Li Xian would hold on till the end or collapse at this point.

  Numbness had set in, not just his feet felt heavy as lead, but his brain was also completely blank. After running twelve laps, Li Xian had completely lost himself, leaving only the mechanical consciousness of moving forward step by step. Just like that, he ran and ran until suddenly his legs went soft, and he fell headfirst to the ground...